DES MOINES, Iowa — Former University of Colorado star and two-time Olympian Jenny Simpson won the 5,000 meters at the USA Track & Field Championships on Sunday — and the 5,000 isn’t even her specialty.

Simpson, now a volunteer assistant coach for the Buffs, had already qualified for the world championships in Moscow in August in the 1,500, but decided to run the 5K because she hadn’t competed in it in two years at the U.S. championships. Simpson will run only the 1,500 in Moscow.

Oliver back in good form. Ryan Wilson held off Denver East alumnus David Oliver in the 110 hurdles, with Olympic champion Aries Merritt finishing third.

Oliver said his runner-up finish and a trip to the worlds were not redemption after his injury-plagued 2012 season. “Honestly, 2012 is 2012,” Oliver said. “It’s 2013, and I don’t worry about that too much. I just came out here with the goal to make the team, and I was able to do that. I had a complete performance throughout the rounds, and I couldn’t be going with a better group of guys.”

Nelson finally gets his gold. With one of his young daughters in his arms and the other clinging to his back, American shot putter Adam Nelson finally took his long-awaited victory lap.

Nine years after the Athens Games, where he finished second, Nelson was honored as the 2004 Olympic champion in a ceremony Sunday.

“Better late than never,” Nelson said. “The way I look at it is I’ve got the rest of my life to be the gold medalist.”

Nelson was elevated to Olympic champion last month, taking the gold that was stripped from Ukrainian Yuriy Bilonog, whose reanalyzed sample tested positive for steroids.

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